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Is company selling magazines legit?: Resident suspicious of door-to-door salesmanMar 16, 2010 (Times-News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A salesman going door-to-door selling magazines last week raised a red flag for a Burlington resident who decided to do an Internet search of the company rather than give the representative a sale. The salesman from Self Starters Inc. showed up at Dennis Rasmussen's door at about 7:30 p.m. March 8 trying to sell magazine subscriptions. "He had a long sob story that his child was in protective services and he needed to prove to the judge that he could work," Rasmussen said. "He said he had to be productive for a year and was selling magazine subscriptions." Rasmussen wasn't sure he was dealing with a legitimate business, so he took a receipt that the man was holding and told him to wait while he looked some information up on the Internet. The salesman decided instead to take his receipt back and walk away. Rasmussen still did a search of Self Starters, Inc. and found some information that made him think he wasn't dealing with a legitimate company, so he contacted the Times-News. While there are Internet sites, including RipoffReport. com, that claim Self Starters Inc., a magazine sales company located in Bradenton, Fla., is a scam, the business has an A minus rating, according to the Better Business Bureau in west Florida. Since the company started in May 2007, the Better Business Bureau has received two complaints about it in regard to "sales practice issues." Consumers in Massachusetts and Texas made the complaints, said John Zajac, spokesman for the Better Business Bureau in west Florida. "In the first one, the consumer went to go look up the company online and couldn't find any information about them," Zajac said. The consumer asked for a refund, and the company provided a refund. "In the second complaint, the representative indicated to the consumer they would be able to track the progress of the subscription online," Zajac said. "When the consumer went online, the Web site wasn't working." That consumer asked for a refund because the person felt the company was misrepresenting itself, Zajac said. Self Starters, Inc. provided a refund. According to the company's Web site, Self Starters Inc. is a business training program designed "to teach self-discipline, responsibility, self-esteem, work ethics, personal growth, positive mental attitudes and setting goals for the future." "By going door-to-door, business-to-business, we've found this a great training ground to get hands-on experience for public relations and good communication skill," the Web site states. Kayon Lee Ellis is the president of the company and Eroll Knott is the secretary, according to the Better Business Bureau. Those same people along with a "Mr. C" are listed as directors on the company's Web site. The Burlington Police Department, the Alamance County Sheriff's Department, the Better Business Bureau in Greensboro, the N.C. Attorney General's office and the Florida Attorney General's office haven't received any complaints about Self Starters Inc. While there are no complaints on file, Noelle Talley, spokeswoman for the N.C. Attorney General's office, said that "it's never OK to use deceptive sales pitches in order to make a sale." In a past incident, Attorney General Roy Cooper took Trinity Public Relations, of Charlotte, a company that sold magazine subscriptions, to court to stop deceptive sales pitches. "Trinity is now barred from using sympathy appeals to sell magazines door-to-door, must provide a written receipt, including its refund policy and a timeline of when magazines will arrive, and must notify consumers of their three-day right to cancel," according to a press release from the N.C. Attorney General's office. Cooper encourages consumers to only buy magazines that are sold door-todoor from people they trust or know. Consumers should ask questions before paying money. If the seller claims the money will go to a school, hospital or charity, ask for a letter of endorsement from that organization. Ask when the magazine will be received. Get a receipt that includes refund and contact information. To see more of the Times-News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thetimesnews.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Times-News, Burlington, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |